The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

Ye Kai's face remained tense as he gripped his brother's clothes tightly.

Seeing this, Ye Sheng gently patted his head and comforted him in a soft voice, "Brother, don't worry, I'll handle these troubles properly. Let's go back to the house first."

After escorting Ye Kai upstairs, Ye Sheng turned and went into his room, closing the door behind him.

He did not immediately begin his cultivation, but instead sat quietly at the table, calmly processing everything that had just happened.

Du Tao's threat was merely an impending storm; though troublesome, he had three months to prepare and it remained under control.

What truly alarmed Ye Sheng was the servant who followed closely behind Du Tao.

Pang Fu's warning from that day still rings in my ears, how dare this man openly disobey?

In the strict hierarchy and dog-eat-dog world of the sect's lower levels, a lowly servant has absolutely no reason to muster courage.

There must be a reason behind it.

Could it be that Du Tao offered him irresistible benefits? Or has he found a stronger backer than Pang Fu?

In any case, such an unstable variable must be identified as soon as possible.

Having experienced so much since arriving at Shuilongdu and now Qingyun Sword Sect, Ye Sheng has long since learned to proceed cautiously and prudently.

Especially in the path he paved for the two brothers' future survival, any possible accidents or threats must be eliminated in advance.

Night fell, and the moon hung high in the sky.

Ye Sheng left Willow Garden quietly, without alerting a single person.

This was not because of his profound strength, but because as a spiritual plant cultivator, he was nothing more than an ant in the eyes of those high-level cultivators in the sect, and they disdained to even look at him.

Moreover, the high-level cultivators in the sect are busy with secluded cultivation all day long, so they have no time to pry into the trivial matters of the lives of these ordinary people at the bottom of the sect.

Perhaps only some outer disciples would occasionally pay attention to it.

However, since Liuyuan was an adjoining residence of Liu Qing, the outer disciples really didn't dare to monitor her personal spirit plant husband.

At this moment, Ye Sheng used the Blood Shadow Step, his figure blending into the night like a ghost, and stealthily headed towards the servants' quarters at the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, he pushed the art of the Thousand Faces Illusion to its limit. Under the moonlight, his body twisted slightly, his joints cracked, and his facial muscles twitched.

Before long, he had transformed from a handsome young man into a middle-aged servant with high cheekbones and a lewd look.

With such an appearance, she would never attract the slightest attention among the servants.

Although it was late at night, the servants' quarters were not completely silent. In a dormitory room in the east corner, a few dim yellow oil lamps still flickered.

Ye Sheng knew that this was one of the few places where the servants could relax. They would gather in small groups, chatting and drinking, or gambling a few copper coins to relieve the fatigue accumulated during the day.

He pushed the door open and entered; the stench of sweat and feet inside was almost suffocating.

Ye Sheng remained expressionless and walked straight to a dilapidated gambling table in the corner, where several servants were sitting around playing dice.

"Brothers, have a great time!"

With a hoarse voice, Ye Sheng pulled out a few copper coins from his pocket, threw them on the table, and said loudly, "Count me in."

The gambler beamed with joy upon seeing the newcomer join so readily.

"Haha, come, come, new brother, please have a seat!"

Ye Sheng quickly became friends with everyone.

He deliberately lost more than he won, but he was generous with his bets. After several rounds, the atmosphere became very lively.

After a few rounds of gambling, they started to open up.

"Hey, have you heard? This afternoon, Senior Brother Du Tao went to Willow Garden to cause trouble for that Ye Sheng!"

A fat servant lowered his voice and said mysteriously.

"I heard about it! It was quite a commotion; they almost came to blows!"

"That Ye Sheng is really lucky to have managed to get close to Senior Sister Liu Qing. Now he even dares to talk back to Senior Brother Du Tao. He's got some nerve."

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" someone quickly stopped them. "Be careful what you say! How dare we discuss Ye Sheng now?"

At this moment, Ye Sheng picked up the wine bowl beside him and asked casually, "Brothers, I'm new here and don't understand many things. Is that Senior Brother Du Tao very capable?"

"Furthermore, I heard that his cousin Du Qiang's death was suspicious. Didn't Manager Pang issue a gag order? How come anyone still dares to inform Senior Brother Du Tao?"

He cleverly combined several questions, making it sound like the curious tone of a newcomer.

A burly man, his face flushed from drinking, hiccuped and slurred, "Brother, you don't understand. Senior Brother Du Tao is an outer disciple, with the cultivation of the seventh level of Qi Refining! His cousin died under mysterious circumstances, how could he not investigate? As for the messenger... hehe..."

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said, "Who else could it be but that kid Ma Liu!"

"Ma Liu?" Ye Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he pressed, "Has he lost his mind? Isn't he afraid of Manager Pang dealing with him?"

"Afraid? What's he afraid of!"

The portly servant chimed in, scoffing, "That kid's got quite the airs these days. He stopped staying in the Rejected Pill Room a month ago; now he's a favorite of Manager Zhu Zhang of the Hundred Herbs Garden!"

Is Zhu Zhang in charge?

The name flashed through Ye Sheng's mind. He remembered that when he first arrived at the Hundred Herbs Garden, the manager who came to inspect the garden was surnamed Zhu.

"Steward Zhu Zhang?" Ye Sheng feigned surprise and asked, "Is he able to stand up to Steward Pang?"

"Confrontation? It's more than just confrontation!"

The burly, red-faced man slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising sharply, "You have no idea! There are already factions among the outer sect managers! And Manager Pang and Manager Zhu are notorious sworn enemies! One of them manages the Waste Pill Room, and the other manages the Hundred Herbs Garden—both lucrative positions. They've been fighting openly and covertly for years over territory and resources!"

"That kid Ma Liu is Manager Zhu's spy planted next to Manager Pang! With Du Qiang dead, Manager Pang wanted to suppress the matter and keep the profits for himself, but how could Manager Zhu let him have his way? That's why he had Ma Liu leak the information to Du Tao, using him as a tool to kill, which conveniently caused trouble for Manager Pang!"

It turned out to be the case.

Ye Sheng suddenly felt enlightened.

The waters of the menial affairs section ran much deeper than he had imagined. This was no longer a simple personal grudge, but had become entangled in factional infighting at the management level.

I was merely a pawn who had been accidentally drawn into their game.

"Could it be that Senior Brother Du Tao is just making some harsh words and choosing to give up? But I heard that the way he acted this afternoon didn't seem like he was willing to let it go easily," Ye Sheng continued to provoke.

"Heh, give up? Absolutely not!"

The fat servant sneered, "Du Tao is a narrow-minded and vindictive man. He'll definitely find it hard to swallow his anger after being humiliated at Willow Garden today."

"I heard he's already declared that he'll spend a fortune to hire 'Bloody Hand' He Ping to cripple Ye Sheng during the outer disciple selection competition three months from now!"

Bloodhand He Ping? Yet another unfamiliar name.

"Who is He Ping? Is he very strong?" Ye Sheng asked.

"More than just strong!"

The burly, red-faced man seemed to sober up slightly, a look of apprehension on his face. He whispered, "He's widely recognized as the top expert among all the spirit plant growers and spirit feeders in the sect! It's said that before joining the sect, he was already a half-step Bone Forging Realm martial artist, his hands stained with countless drops of blood, hence the nickname 'Blood Hands.' He's the top contender for promotion to outer disciple this year!"

"He Ping."

Ye Sheng silently memorized this name.

After chatting for a few more minutes, he got up to take his leave.

Leaving the dormitory, the cool mountain breeze brushed against Ye Sheng's face, gradually calming him down.

The situation is now complex, yet increasingly clear.

Zhu Zhang, Pang Fu, Du Tao, He Ping...

A giant web of interests and hatred has quietly been unfurled.

As the one who ignited the incident, he was already deeply involved and could not escape.

But he was determined not to be a lamb to the slaughter, but to become a hunter who would break through the net with a blade.

Three months. He only had three months.

Not only do they need to break through to the Bone Forging Realm, they also need to prepare enough trump cards to deal with all the variables in the selection competition.

Back at Willow Garden, Ye Kai was already fast asleep. Ye Sheng didn't disturb him, but turned and walked into the herb garden in the courtyard.

Under the moonlight, all kinds of spiritual plants were full of vitality. His gaze fell on the century-old green vine, his eyes filled with resolute determination.

He took out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, which was filled with the dregs and refined essence of the pills he had accumulated recently. He carefully poured it onto the roots of the green vine.

Afterwards, Ye Sheng went back into the house and took out the fragment of the black iron shield he had obtained from the black market from his bag.

"It's time to forge a real weapon." He gripped the fragment of the black iron shield tightly, sensing the faint spiritual energy within it, and murmured to himself.

At this moment, he knew in his heart that a woodcutter's knife was ultimately just ordinary iron. Facing the impending life-or-death struggle, he needed a sharp blade that could bear his inner strength and unleash the full power of the [Burning Blood Blade Technique].

However, he also knew that weapon crafting was different from alchemy, requiring a special place and high-temperature furnace, and even more so, precise control over the properties of metals.

He lacks all of these qualities.

But this didn't stump Ye Sheng. He remembered that in the westernmost corner of the menial work area, there was a scrap metal workshop where black smoke lingered year-round.

That place may be the starting point for him to break through the current predicament.